Colombia Is Still the Deadliest Place to Be an Environmental Activist, Report Finds
27 February
Popular
Anti Ivan Duque's demonstrator is seen holding a placard with the photos of social leader Alirio Sánchez Sánchez and the indigenous Hector Janer Latín, both killed in Cauca, Colombia during a protest against Ivan Duque visit in London which included a meeting about fracking, environmental issues, the peace process implementation, and questioning the risk that social leaders in Colombia face. Andres Pantoja / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images
Colombia was the most dangerous nation in 2019 to be an environmental activist and experts suspect that conditions will only get worse.
<p>More than 100 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/human-rights" rel="noopener noreferrer">human rights</a> defenders <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1_kUX7g7cAMip0rckk8kI4GJVpbyQfLeA&ll=5.937417542461147%2C-76.25510382517302&z=7" target="_blank">were killed</a> across the Latin country in 2019. Community leaders, teachers and park rangers are among the <a href="http://www.indepaz.org.co/paz-al-liderazgo-social/" target="_blank">more than 50</a> human rights defenders and community leaders additionally killed since the beginning of this year.</p>
<p>In October and November, Colombia <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/05/colombia-is-having-its-largest-wave-protests-recent-decades-why/" target="_blank">experienced</a> a large wave of demonstrations following divisive elections and public opposition to large projects that posed threats to the environment. In some instances, these mass protests were met with police brutality and targeted violence against human rights defenders, according to the <a href="https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/resource-publication/global-analysis-2019" target="_blank">Global Analysis 2019 report</a> published in January 2020 by Irish human rights organization <a href="https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/" target="_blank">Front Line Defenders</a>. The report details physical assaults, defamation campaigns, digital security threats, judicial harassment and gendered attacks against global activists at the forefront of social change.</p><p>The Philippines, Honduras, Mexico and Brazil all ranked among the deadliest countries after Colombia, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/colombia-was-deadliest-place-earth-environmental-activists-it-s-gotten-n1139861" target="_blank">according to NBC</a>. Globally, at least 304 human rights defenders in 31 countries were targeted and killed for their work. </p><p>Additional findings from the report found that: </p><ul><li>More two-thirds of global killings occurred in Latin America. </li><li>Forty percent of those killed worked on matters surrounding land, indigenous rights, and environmental issues. </li><li>A majority of those killed (85 percent) had previously been threatened. </li></ul>
<p>Human rights defenders were targeted in almost all countries that saw waves of public uprisings and continues to threaten activists. Just last week, a 45-year-old Costa Rican indigenous defender was killed by an armed mob while trying to reclaim ancestral land, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/costa-rican-indigenous-land-activist-killed-by-armed-mob" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/02/03/802359415/sadness-and-worry-after-2-men-connected-to-butterfly-sanctuary-are-found-dead" target="_blank">NPR reports</a> that Mexican officials are still investigating the suspicious murder of two men connected to a butterfly sanctuary found dead earlier this month in Michoacán. In Indonesia, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/indonesia-golfrid-siregar-nshe-medan-hydropower-batang-toru-walhi/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a> reports that the family of a murdered environmental activist is calling on national authorities to take over the death investigation. </p><p>"The role human rights defenders (HRDs) played in these protests ranged from organizing and mobilizing to monitoring and documenting human rights violations, and to assisting those who were injured or arrested. The causes of street protests and social unrest differed, but tended to revolve around outright rejection of deep economic inequality, rampant corruption, and calls for greater civil and political rights," Frontline Defenders said. </p><p>The report comes after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern at the "staggering number" of activists killed in Colombia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/14/un-staggering-number-activists-killed-colombia" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>. A separate UN report found that 107 human rights defenders were killed in 2019 despite a 2016 peace accord with the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36605769" target="_blank">Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia</a> aimed at improving conditions in poor, rural areas where most of the murders occurred.</p>
<p>In addition to physical attacks, human rights defenders were also subject to restrictive legislation, intimidation, and threats attacking an individual's safety. Further measures were taken to hinder their ability to work online and in digital spaces, such as internet shutdowns and blocking communications systems like social media and instant messaging.</p><p>"Further conflict appears inevitable as governments in the region, regardless of political persuasion, continued to embrace mega-development projects and grant major concessions to transnational companies in order to secure such projects," reads the report.</p><p>Even in the face of life-threatening opposition, the work of human rights defenders was responsible for positive change around the world, concludes the report. Following huge pressure from human rights activists, Jordan's Parliament withdrew the Cybercrime Bill in February 2019 restricting freedom of speech and the right to privacy. In Morocco, the women of the Sulaliyat tribe were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/07/world/africa/morocco-sulaliyyate-lands-women-inheritance.html" target="_blank">granted</a> the right to inherit and own land and nine protestors in southern Madagascar successfully halted a mine project after the government declared that the benefits of the proposed mine were not clear. </p>
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An especially sanguine view of the Amazon jungle in Peru on Oct. 12, 2018. Kjell Eson / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
By Genevieve Belmaker and Joseph Charpentier
Throughout 2018, forests continued to be threatened and destroyed. From the Amazon, to the Congo Basin, to the Mekong Delta and scores of places in between—journalists reporting for Mongabay filed hundreds of stories about the world's forests.
Although the significance of any one story is difficult to gauge in the short-term, several Mongabay reports from 2018 stood out. These pieces dealt with illegal timber trafficking, advances in technology-based environmental protections and human rights protections for the people doing environment-defense work—formal and informal.
<strong></strong><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/the-last-trees-of-the-amazon/" target="_blank">The Last Trees of the Amazon</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTMwOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjkwNzQ4NH0.qWovNx2KttK18sHnH6ZzD8P942AYZfW6gZobNpxzbDg/img.jpg?width=980" id="fcc25" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5444c54f562599cabb8dc733f7ddd13c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Logged trucks in the Amazon </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo by Mongabay</small></p>
<p>A team of journalists from five Latin American countries investigated how groups of timber traffickers manage to steal and process timber from the Amazon. Illegally-sourced timber from Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia are incorporated into the international market with falsified official documents that are almost never verified. Timber traffickers are now pursuing new species of trees, but the countries' governments do very little to protect the species. Reported by Nelly Luna Amancio of Ojopublico and translated by Sarah Engel for Mongabay Latam.</p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/environmental-reporting-in-vietnam-often-a-comedy-of-errors/" target="_blank">Environmental Reporting in Vietnam Often a Comedy of Errors</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTQyMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzM5OTc2OX0.v03o-USC_0Zq_9bNbQxbKj4uZSC-32CLXD96KpamBiM/img.jpg?width=980" id="73ad0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="00454c4539df3e11d937dff6e5db2ffd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The main chamber of Hang En, the third-largest cave in the world, located in Phong Nha-Ka Bang National Park </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo by Michael Tatarski / Mongabay</small></p>
<p>Vietnam's global press freedom ranking is one of the lowest in the world. Reporters Without Borders ranks Vietnam 175 of 180 in its 2017 annual press freedom index. Environmental journalists in Vietnam, including citizen journalists and bloggers covering forests or pollution issues, routinely face roadblocks and sometimes jail time. Reported by Michael Tatarski in Vietnam.</p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/land-restoration-makes-progress-in-ethiopia/" target="_blank">Land Restoration in Ethiopia Makes Progress</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTU5Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTMxNzkxNn0.hK9d-YZM-B87cDdNlLfhAptET26TF8-I0jeHsd3m3Pg/img.jpg?width=980" id="cf76f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="35444ed9be33614fb736788a6e43c5e9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Students of the church live in small huts around the church's land.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo by Maheder Haileselassie Tadese for Mongabay</small></p>
<p>In Meket—a district in Ethiopia's Amhara National Regional State (ANRS)—efforts are underway to restore what experts say is one of the more severely deforested and degraded regions in the country. Of the land in ANRS, less than 2 percent forested land remains, and efforts are underway to restore degraded and deforested areas. In 2016, Ethiopia turned to forestry sector development projects in the form of short rotation planting and rehabilitation of degraded lands in ANRS and other districts. Reported and photographed by Maheder Haileselassie Tadese in Ethiopia.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/09/how-land-is-stolen-in-colombia/" target="_blank">How Land Is Stolen in Colombia</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTY5NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTMwMjc0NH0.D1RSBqEzpatSx8Jv9lsO1YCF-5A4wAhtchDkEvbzk98/img.jpg?width=980" id="dd04f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="94de2f1e845b1465bad29bf61963fce3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Many areas have been used to grow large crops. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo courtesy of the Solidarity Development Corporation (CDS)</small></p>
<p>Mongabay learned that the superintendent of notary and registry has a record of empty lands being used illegally in seven Colombian departments. The illegally-used land is in the departments of Norte de Santander, Antioquia, Meta, Caquetá, Casanare, Cesar and Vichada. The land makes up a total of 762,807 hectares (almost 1,885,000 acres). Reported by Maria Fernanda Lizcano and translated by Sarah Engel.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/bangladeshi-forests-stripped-bare-as-rohingya-refugees-battle-to-survive/" target="_blank">Bangladeshi Forests Stripped Bare as Rohingya Refugees Battle to Survive</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTc5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTE3NDYwOX0.11KtGASru2l8qMNgTkCe9yZudkdu17xPuPGZQ4xmIh0/img.jpg?width=980" id="296cc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2ecd72d1c697843253a1a0fd4cbe5921" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">A Rohingya boy chopping wood from tree stump he freed from soil near Kutupalong-Balukhali refugee camp on Bangladesh </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo by Khaamil Ahmed / Mongabay</small></p>
<p>Their panicked dash from burning villages involved stumbling through forests or battling monsoon-charged waters in search of safety. Along the way and in makeshift shelters and eventually camps, refugees needed a massive supply of firewood and shelter for survival. The rapid decimation of the forest is also possibly contaminating groundwater supplies. Reported and photographed by Kaamil Ahmed on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/in-brazil-an-island-laboratory-for-atlantic-forest-restoration/" target="_blank">In Brazil, an Island Laboratory for Atlantic Forest Restoration</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTgzMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTA4NDkxM30.TM3_Q7TCukberc1mKQ8B7KcuTPA_w3qxNRoq8ox19qE/img.jpg?width=980" id="488bf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c79bac755aba41bfd7bd6dc24cc0d18" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">A rufous-collared sparrow in Anchieta </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo by Ignacio Amigo / Mongabay</small></p>
<p>Anchieta Island, just off the coast of Brazil near São Paulo, has seen the worst side of humans. Now, scientists and local authorities are laboring to restore its <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a>. The island is located 800 meters (about 874 yards) from the municipality of Ubatuba, in one of the few regions of Brazil where the Atlantic Forest still thrives. Most of the island's original forest was devastated over a long period of human habitation, and more recent attempts to introduce foreign mammal species have also had a significant ecological impact. Scientists are now studying the complex interactions at play during environmental restoration, including removing some invasive species, as they embark on an intensive reforestation program. Reported and photographed by Ignacio Amigo in Brazil.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/trase-earth-tracks-commodities-links-supply-chains-to-deforestation-risk/" target="_blank">Trase.earth Tracks Commodities, Links Supply Chains to Deforestation Risk</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTkyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc3OTc0Nn0.KuFLdb1VdNbSCYXKH7s2SMryLWvEgbshOVcp6zKZJ0E/img.jpg?width=980" id="86020" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9eb3064fbf884900ea2f03d56b31be49" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Cerrado soy feeds a booming global soy protein market. The Trase 2018 Yearbook tracks the Brazilian soy supply chain in detail, from producers to export. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Image by Flávia Milhorance</small></p>
<p>Launched in 2016, <a href="https://trase.earth" target="_blank">Trase</a> is an innovative Internet tool, available to anyone, which tracks commodities supply chains in detail from source to market, and can also connect those chains to environmental harm, including deforestation. Until the advent of Trase, knowledge of supply chains was sketchy and difficult to obtain. The Trase Yearbook 2018 is the first in an annual series of reports on countries and companies trading in such commodities as soy, sugarcane and maize, which also assesses the deforestation risk associated with those crops, making it a vital tool for environmentalists, governments, investors and other interested parties. The Yearbook shows that in 2016 the Brazilian soy supply chain was dominated by just six key players—Bunge, Cargill, ADM, COFCO, Louis Dreyfus and Amaggi—accounting for 57 percent of soy exported. In the past ten years, these six firms were also associated with more than 65 percent of the total deforestation in Brazil. Trase shows that zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs) have so far not resulted in greatly reduced deforestation risk for the commodities companies and countries making them. Between 2006 and 2016, soy traders with ZDCs, as compared to non-committed firms, were associated with similar levels of deforestation risk. Written by Claire Asher.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/fire-more-than-logging-drives-amazon-forest-degradation-study-finds/" target="_blank">Fire, More Than Logging, Drives Amazon Forest Degradation, Study Finds</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMTk5NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMjgzMjM0M30.LOmvgiWmbOubDvMFrMGHQA0rDuAc_aky27YVXdnYIB4/img.png?width=980" id="353e2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="25da0349b9808614337fd4ab6388e99a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The Amazon arc of deforestation stretches across the southern and eastern edges of the forest and is rapidly expanding into the forest's core. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Data in Global Forest Watch from Hansen et al (2013) and Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (INPE) PRODES project</small></p>
<p>Forest degradation has historically been overlooked in accounting and monitoring carbon stocks. A recent study combined ground-based inventory, satellite and LiDAR data to record the loss of carbon due to forest degradation in areas exposed to logging, fire damage or both, in the arc of deforestation of the southeastern Amazon. The study revealed that fire damage causes greater losses than logging, and fire-damaged forests recovered more slowly than logged forests. Accurate depictions of both deforestation and degradation are necessary to establish emissions baselines used to inform programs to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Written by David Klinges.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/seeing-redd-a-database-of-forest-carbon-emissions-reduction-projects/" target="_blank">Seeing REDD: A Database of Forest Carbon Emission Reduction Projects</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMjA3NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NTI3MDg3OH0.DAyUmMn52PTreIN_ikEupNECRKyZdcjo-7LWD_fsOxY/img.png?width=980" id="79adb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d2eee6bfa138dfb5f3935d0ae4484cb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">A woman in Senegal farms short-cycle cowpeas instead of millet due to poor seasonal rains, which are expected to become more frequent as climate changes. REDD+ aims to reduce emissions from forest loss. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Image by Thierry Brévault, copyright CIRAD</small></p>
<p>A searchable database of 467 forest carbon emissions reduction (REDD+) initiatives in 57 countries is now available through the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). The ID-RECCO database gathers in one free online tool over 100 different categories of information – including project partners, activities and funding sources – on these subnational projects aimed at conserving forests, promoting local economies, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation. The tool makes these data and their sources accessible to anyone, with minimal interpretation: while it does not summarize project results, it provides goals, activities, and links to project websites for the reader to learn more. Written by Sue Palminteri.<br></p><h3><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/04/indias-new-forest-policy-draft-draws-criticism-for-emphasis-on-industrial-timber/" target="_blank">India's New Forest Policy Draft Draws Criticism for Emphasis on Industrial Timber</a></h3>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTAzMjE4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzY1NDAyMH0.59PxB1CcEzSSZ_LJphbYxOQ8sout5DQDh2Ypvp_YSZg/img.jpg?width=980" id="44399" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bd54c872ac017fb7a44c44e453b08745" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The new draft forest policy may not be beneficial for members of forest-dependent communities, such as this Malayali tribesman from Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Photo by S. Gopikrishna Warrier / Mongabay</small></p>
<p>India's Draft National Forest Policy 2018 is now open for public comment, and will replace the older 1988 policy once it comes into force. Critics are apprehensive about how the draft policy deals with community participation and industrial forestry. The current draft is bereft of knowledge-driven solutions, some experts say. Written by S. Gopikrishna Warrier.</p>
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</p><div id="e2a57" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="T7OXJX1576662149"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="978258409593196544" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Volunteers Plant 67,500 Trees in Portuguese Forest Devastated by Wildfires https://t.co/lujiyDKqK1 #wildfires… https://t.co/dqGYFgBvcW</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/978258409593196544">1522069954.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/the-10-most-intriguing-forest-stories-of-2018/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em><br></p>
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Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest, near Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Neil Palmer, CIAT / CC BY 2.0
New University of Maryland data published by Global Forest Watch (GFW) Wednesday revealed 2017 as the second-worst year on record for tropical tree cover loss, a GFW blog announced.
Tropical tree cover decreased by an area the size of Bangladesh—a total of 39 million acres. That amounts to 40 football fields worth of trees cut every minute of last year in a devastating blow to biodiversity and the global climate.
<p>Despite conservation efforts, 2017 was only slightly less devastating for tropical <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rainforests" target="_self">rainforests</a> than 2016, according to the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/06/deforestation-accelerating-despite-mounting-efforts-protect-tropical-forests" target="_blank">World Resources Institute</a> (WRI), which runs GFW.</p><p>"This is truly an urgent issue that should be getting more attention," WRI senior fellow Frances Seymour told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2018/jun/27/one-football-pitch-of-forest-lost-every-second-in-2017-data-reveals" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "We are trying to put out a house fire with a teaspoon." </p><p>Part of the loss is due to a nasty <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a> feedback loop. Forests are an important carbon sink, and deforestation contributes as much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as the U.S., according the The Guardian. This drives global warming that makes <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">wildfires</a> and storms more common and severe, partly contributing to more tree cover loss. For example, 2017's devastating <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricanes" target="_self">hurricanes</a> cost the island of Dominica 32 percent of its tree cover and Puerto Rico 10 percent, according to GFW.</p><p>But most of last year's loss was more directly human caused. </p><p>"The main reason tropical forests are disappearing is not a mystery—vast areas continue to be cleared for soy, beef, palm oil, timber, and other globally traded commodities," Seymour told The Guardian. </p><p>Brazil had the dubious honor of leading the world's countries in 2017 tree cover loss, mostly due to fires set to clear land. Brazil saw an important decline in tree cover loss beginning in 2005, but it spiked again to the highest it's ever been in 2016 and only fell slightly this year. This is partly due to political instability, lack of enforcement and a government that has rolled back environmental protections, according to GFW.</p><p>"What we are seeing today is the backlash," Carlos Nobre at the University of São Paulo, Brazil told The Guardian.</p><p>"Global warming makes much hotter temperatures, making forests more vulnerable to human-set fires and natural-caused fires," Nobre added.</p><p>Also in the Amazonian region, Colombia saw a 46 percent spike in tree cover loss after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were pushed out of forested areas, leading aspiring farmers and miners to race to clear and develop the previously inaccessible land.</p><p>In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) broke its record for tree cover loss in 2017, mostly due to agriculture, logging and charcoal production. </p><p>The one bright spot was Indonesia, which saw an overall decline in tree cover lost and a 60 percent drop in the loss of primary forest. Part of this is due to a national moratorium on peat drainage that went into effect in 2016, GFW said. </p>
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Miles of waterways contaminated by the oil spill in Santander, Colombia. El Tiempo / YouTube
An oil spill of approximately 550 barrels (23,100 gallons) has killed more than 2,400 fish, birds and reptiles near the city of Barrancabermeja, Colombia, RCN Radio reported.
Oil started spilling from the Lizama 158 oil field in early March and spread down 15 miles of the Lizama river and 12.4 miles of the Sogamoso river.
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According to local media, it took Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol three weeks to respond to the environmental disaster.
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<a href="https://colombiareports.com/colombia-takes-action-three-weeks-after-disastrous-oil-spill/" target="_blank">Colombia Reports</a> noted that the crude started escaping the oil field on March 3 but it was only this past Saturday that Ecopetrol vowed to send heavy equipment that could stop the spill.
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The company <a href="https://www.ecopetrol.com.co/wps/portal/es/ecopetrol-web/nuestra-empresa/sala-de-prensa/boletines-de-prensa/boletines-2018/boletines-2018/Ecopetrol-controla-afloramiento-de-crudo-lodos-y-gas-en-la-fortuna-barrancabermeja" target="_blank">said</a> Tuesday that the spill is fully controlled and workers are carrying out environmental monitoring of the rivers. The cause of the spill is currently unclear but an investigation is underway.
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</p><div id="d2073" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RQ47VO1576683832"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="976888849434664961" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Atención | Cada dos horas realizamos monitoreos ambientales: toma de muestra en las fuentes hídricas (quebrada La… https://t.co/XQnr1m09Bp</div> — Ecopetrol (@Ecopetrol)<a href="https://twitter.com/ECOPETROL_SA/statuses/976888849434664961">1521743426.0</a></blockquote></div>
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In addition to the 2,400 animals who died, Claudia Gonzalez, director of the National Agency of Environmental Licenses (ANLA) told RCN Radio that 1,300 animals were rescued alive.
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About 1,080 trees of different species were also affected by the spill and about 70 people had to be relocated from the area, with some people reporting
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/health-stories">health</a> problems.
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"I have practically nothing to eat, we have lived through the river all our lives and the contamination has already reached the Magdalena," area residet Elkin Cala <a href="http://www.france24.com/es/20180327-derrame-petroleo-emergencia-colombia-ecopetrol" target="_blank">told</a> the Colombian television station Noticias Uno.
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Barrancabermeja, located off the shore of the Magdalena river in the department of Santander, is home to the largest oil refinery in the South American country.
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Santander Governor Didier Tavera Amado has
<a href="http://www.santander.gov.co/index.php/actualidad/item/2107-ecopetrol-ha-sido-incapaz-de-atender-la-tragedia-ambiental" target="_blank">criticized</a> the oil company for being incompetent and incapable of responding to the environmental emergency.<br>
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